Thursday 13 September 2007

Don't fall for the trap

As time rolls on and as more people get involved with Betfair and BetDAQ, etc, the markets become more sophisticated and also home to more sneaky people. The WOM (weight of money) method of trading (where you wait for a big chunk of money to enter the market and knowing it will move the market, you ride that train to cash-ville) has become less easy to use profitably, due to spoofers, these are people who know that people are using WOM and so try to fool them into commiting their money by putting a sizeable chunks of money into the market, but outside the current matching prices and then cancel out before they are matched, causing the market to move the opposite direction. This technique is not limited to the betting exchanges, you see it in financial markets too.

Another trick to watch out for is when markets have just reopened after suspension, you can find people putting in prices to catch out the unwary, e.g. if the prices are _ 1.5 1.6 then they may add in 17 (rather than 1.7) on the hope that someone will think they have value and select it, matching up a bet that is not what they think! I would have thought it's quite tricky to get caught out like this but I've seen these prices offered quite often, so some people must be falling for it.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

i don't understand why you continue with the torture?
With all these amazing winning day trading systems advertised on your site, why bother lining betfair's pockets! Really why? How many areas do you want to be mediocre in?

Anonymous said...

Hi Richard,

Apologies if this may seem harsh but as this is a public posting area I think it is only fair that somebody criticises as well as compliments the blog.

Unfortunately in this case it is criticism. Most of your posts seem to detail losses or mistakes, but it doesn't look like you learn from them and continue with the same message of must do that differently next time, but again its the same messages that are posted. Honestly, how can you write a ebook with strategies when they obviously don't work?? Ok fair enough they may be pointers on how to get started etc but surely if you are serious about this subject then you should be concentrating on improving yourself rather than other people. Also the free DVD, Ok fair enough but can you honestly say that you can improve on Bet Angel's or Racingtraders free videos.

I'm going for the jugular now but in all honesty your blog stinks of cheap marketing!!! You have little to say and your saying it too loudly.

Apologies if this is harsh but at the moment there are far to many of these blogs around talking bollocks, there are a handfull which really are worth a read and I think everybody knows which ones these are.

Also as the name of the blog is £100 to £100k can you update us as to where you are upto at the moment?

Regards Emma

P.S. This is not meant to be a personal attack but by writing this blog you are there to be criticised, especially with the amount of adds on the blog.

Richard said...

If by "these amazing day trading systems advertised on your site", you are on about the google ads, then I don't control what is showing there. If you have a specific criticism about a post I have done then make it and I'll try and address it. If you don't like what I write, then don't read it (but please tell me first why, so if I agree with it I can see if I can fix it).

Richard said...

Hi Emma,
I must admit, when I first read your comment, I was quite gutted. Now I've stopped being a wuss, I'd like to address your points.
I never set out to be an all knowing guru who never loses and I'm not, even slightly.
As a trader I am learning (sometimes not and making the same mistake), getting some profits and also some losses. I am being honest with my posts, pointing out the errors and mistakes. If my goal was to push out products I could have just kept quiet and made out I was the big trader and never lost, just posting up profits and crap like that. When I lose, and those losses are more frequent right now as I am trying to learn how a new market works (football), I post about it.
I love the free vids put up by bet angel and racing traders and have neither the intention or the trading prowess to even attempt to compete with them. The eBook and DVD I have spoken about are not trading systems, but about the psychological aspects, e.g. loss aversion, which I've not noticed being talked about elsewhere, but is important, or about writing/using the betfair API.
As for ads on the site, I have got 2 google ad boxes. One at the top and one to the right. So far these have earned me about $20 which is about a tenner. For about 4 months worth of postings and a lot of criticism (see 1st comment above as an example) not really great value!
As for where I am now, I've got a long long way to go. I titled this site after being inspired by the story of James from Racing Traders, starting with £200 and getting to £200K. I wanted to try the same sort of thing, only I only had £100 to start with. I started losing and as I have improved (although I am still a long way off being where I want to be) I clawed back to where I started and have gone up to near £200 and then back down a bit and then back there again. So, I'm still near the start line, but I feel I've come a long way. I'm still sticking in there and I'm trying to share what I find out. Sorry if you don't like it

Anonymous said...

Richard,

Apologies if you took my comments as a personal attack on yourself, as this is not my intention.

If after approx 4 months I was showing no profit or loss then I would be seriously questioning whether this was for me, surely the only reason we do this is to show monetary gain, and if you calculate the hours spent trading to profit made then your basically working for nothing. Surely this time could be better utilised on some other venture/sideline?

At the end of the day its up to you what you do with your spare time.

Good luck anyway.

Emma.

Richard said...

Hi Emma,
Don't worry about it, no personal offence taken. I appreciate you taking the time to post another comment. My experiement was to start with £100 and see what happens. On the whole I've been enjoying it and I'll continue until I no longer do.
Blogwise, I think I have made some good posts (mainly my earlier ones) and some not so good ones (some of my more recent ones). I might go back to the types of posts I made at the start and drop the recent commentary. I'll keep posting until I get fed up with it. If people don't like it then they don't have to read it and if they get anything from it, then that makes it all the more worthwhile.
Tradingwise, I'm in profit and learning. The horses are my favourite and I enjoy the challenge there. Football I'm finding hard but due to the hours I am available I need to get to know it better, (so I can trade other than on the weekends) and then I think I'll enjoy that more.

Anonymous said...

who the hell is James at racing traders. do you mean adam todd originally known as 'ain't broke don't fix' it on betfair forum in the old days?
Mes.

Anonymous said...

also Richard, take no notice of Emma. 4 months is a drop in the ocean when you are learning something. She is probably a failed trader her self and needs your blog for comfort. If she is a failed trader then she will feel the need to defend herself on this thread.

Richard said...

Yes it is Adam (sorry Adam, no offence meant).

Richard said...

Cheers mate, thanks for that. Appreciate the encouragement.